Samantha at the St. Louis Exposition eBook

“That tells the hull story, Theodore, I could
throw statistics at you till you wuz black and blue,
about our country spendin’ for what is useless
and ruinous to soul, body and estate, one billion four
hundred millions a year, and about the hundred thousand
drunkards that stumble along into the staggerin’
slobberin’ ranks every year, and drop into the
drunkard’s grave. I could eppisode eloquent
to you about all this but what’s the use; you’re
real smart and you know all about it. You’ve
seen on every side on you the beast drivin’
out the angel in man, you’ve seen the staggerin’
army march by you to ruin. You’ve seen the
saloons spring up by the thousands on every side,
for the purpose of makin’ drunkards, you’ve
seen wives murdered by them that promised to protect
’em, you’ve seen children driv to starvation
and the streets by it; you’ve seen Poverty drive
Prosperity out everywhere the curse fell. And
you’ve seen nothin’ good come from it,
nothin’ at all, only the money that Uncle Sam
takes with one hand, and pays out with the other, for
law’s machinery to punish the criminals he makes,
and prisons, jails, reformatories, poor houses, orphan’s
homes, cheap coffins, etc.

“No use my tellin’ you all this for you
know it, but you love your boys, and I want you to
promise me to do by other boys as you’d want
me to do by yourn if I see the Saloon tryin’
its best to entice ’em, and see their bright
innocent eyes beginnin’ to enjoy the deathly
glitter on’t. You’d want me to slam
that door to and keep ’em out. Put my shoulder
blade agin it, prop it up with all the strength I could
git holt on in law and gospel, so they couldn’t
git in. And that’s what I want you to do,
Theodore, I want you to help keep out other children
jest as dear to their fathers and mothers as your
children are to you. And you know that you and
their mother would ruther see ’em lay dead at
your feet, than to see ’em enter that door with
the doom of the place on ’em.

“It’s a heavy door, Theodore, loaded down
with greed and lowest passions, you can’t shet
it alone, nor I can’t, but I would feel guilty
as a dog if I didn’t try my very best. Public
Opinion backed by Law is what has got to slam that
door to and lock it. But you and I can help,
and you can do more than I can, and I want you to promise
me to do all you can.”

Agin I see he wuz strugglin’ for speech, and
I hurried to git my last words in, “I believe
you want to do right, and I will encourage you by
tellin’ you that Josiah is goin’ to vote
for you, though we hain’t got nothin’
agin Mr. Parker. He’s close-mouthed, which
is a good quality, though it can be carried too fur.

“A neighbor of ourn had warned her girl to not
be too familiar with the hired man, a good Christian
he wuz too. And once when her ma wuz gone he
asked her where the milk pail wuz, and she wantin’
to be on the safe side wouldn’t say a word.
That wuz bein’ too cautious, and a good many
think he’s been a little too mute about some
things, he didn’t tell jest where his politics
wuz. But then the tongue is a onruly member and
has to be curbed in, and I guess he means well.
And Mr. Davis, too, of course he’s gittin’
along in years. But jest think of Methusaler,
Mr. Methusaler’s folks would call Mr. Davis
nothin’ but a child.”